


Christmas Luck

by GoofyGoldenGirl



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Backstory, Bittersweet, Character Study, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Party, Christmas Presents, Cute, Fluff, France (Country), Gen, Happy Ending, Holidays, Paris (City), Superheroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 17:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5506922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoofyGoldenGirl/pseuds/GoofyGoldenGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em> It is Christmas Eve but even superheroes still have to work </em><br/> <em> Merry Christmas everyone! </em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Luck

After a confrontation with an overworked toy store employee who had been akumaized and was wrecking havoc on all who tried to shop for gifts last minute, LadyBug and Chat Noir rested on a rooftop.

"How come we're not transforming back so soon?" Ladybug mused.

"Maybe it's a bit of Christmas luck," Chat Noir said. "Isn't the city beautiful on Christmas Eve? With all the lights and decorations? And the view from above is just breathtaking."

"It is," Ladybug agreed. "But I can't stay out too long."

"Why?" Chat Noir asked.

"My family always has a party. Tons of people show up. It's fun."

"You're lucky," Chat Noir said. "I was planning on staying out here for a couple more hours until I got cold."

"What? Don't you have any plans?" Ladybug was surprised.

"Nah. My family---it's complicated. They don't do Christmas, not since my mom--"

His voice nearly cracked on the last word. The tears that he had been holding back the past few weeks threatened to overflow. He blinked and turned away. He bit on his lip as one tear fell. Then another. He felt a gentle hand rest on his shoulder.

"Chat Noir, I'm so sorry," Ladybug whispered.

"It's fine," he said. His fingers brushed against her knuckles and gently placed his hand on hers. He steadied himself with a deep breath. A puff of air materialized in front of him and vanished. He wiped the last of his tears. 

"I'm not letting you stay out here," Ladybug said.

He faced her and opened his mouth to make a joke. A witty remark. Or at least an awful cat pun but what came out surprised him:

"I'd rather stay here than spend another minute at home."

Ladybug gazed sadly up at him.

"I wish I could invite you if it wasn't too late. No one should be alone during Christmas," her voice shook.

He placed a hand on her cheek.

"Don't worry about me," he smiled. "I can take care of myself."

He kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"I'll see you soon?" He asked uncertainly.

"See you soon," she tried to smile back.

Chat Noir watched her swing her yo-yo and aim it the building next to them. She swung off into the night.  
************************************************************************************************************************  
Adrien climbed through the living room window. He landed on the tip of his toes and crept across the room, trying to be as quiet as he could. The room was pitch black except for the dull red lights on the Christmas tree. He looked over at the stack of presents underneath. He couldn't see the tags, but he knew they were all for him. Gabriel went all out for Christmas to fill in his yearly quota for fatherly duties. As if presents could make up for his absence.

The lights switched on. Adrien froze.

"Ah, Adrien."

It was Natalie. He could never get used to her after all these years.

"What are you doing down here? You're not a little boy waiting for _Papa Noel_ anymore."

"I was just putting my present under the tree," he lied. 

"In the dark?" She asked.

He whipped out his iPhone 6 and turned on the flashlight app.

"You could have just turned on the light," she pointed out.

"But--it's a part of the Christmas---Christmas spirit. Since when have you heard of people putting presents under the tree with the lights on?"

He got her there.

"You missed dinner," she said. "I'll have Celine bring it up to you. And you got more fanmail today."

She thrust the stack of letters at Adrien. He said nothing and walked out.

In his room, he went through his fanmail. He ignored the wishes of Merry Christmas and declarations of love, until he found the envelope with the address he was looking for. He opened it to find a festive Christmas card with an illustration of Papa Noel and his reindeer attached to a small gift. The card read:

_Merry Christmas Adrien! Thank you so much for the necklace, it's beautiful! I hope one day we can spend Christmas together again. I love you so much! Maman_

Adrien tore at the wrapping paper to find a little black cat plushie. He picked it up and held it close to his chest. Tears streamed down his cheeks again as he clutched at the stuffed animal and pretended that he was embracing his mother again.

It had been three years since he last saw her. Five, since they shared the same roof. What happened between his parents was a scenario common to many unhappy families: they simply did not love each other anymore. It was years in the making but that Christmas when he was ten brought it all to the surface. The fights. The accusations. Lies and excuses. Between each blow up they actively avoided each other, leaving their son to play mediator.

Then the New Year rolled around and the ball was dropped. She wanted a divorce and planned on taking Adrien with her which made his father furious. A long and messy court battle ensued. In the end he was given sole custody of Adrien.

Adrien caressed the little black cat on top of its head and kissed it. For a second, he felt a wave of happiness crash over his sadness and loneliness. But it wouldn't be enough to make this Christmas better.

The cellphone he used for Chat Noir vibrated on his desk. He grabbed it and saw it was a text from Ladybug:

_Remember Marinette? She's having a Christmas Eve thing and several people couldn't come. How about you surprise her?_  
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************  
Marinette only had twenty minutes to get ready before the first guests arrived. She walked down the stairs, dressed in a bright red dress with black heels, her long hair placed in a neat bun, with a touch of red lip gloss on her lips.

"Ah Marinette!" Her mother exclaimed as she pulled her over. "Don't you look adorable? You know she made that dress herself," she told Marinette's aunt.

"It's nothing really," she said with an awkward smile.

"Are you kidding me? She is so talented!" Her aunt squeezed her shoulder too tightly.

Marinette was dragged about from relative to relative, forced to endure questions about her life and overly excited comments about how much she'd grown. Her cousins were either too young to be able to have a meaningful conversation with her or too old to even give her another look. She helped herself to appetizers and waited the first thirty minutes out.

Then the doorbell rang. Marinette glanced up.

"I'll get it!" She said. She walked over and opened the door. She feigned surprise.

"Oh my god! Chat Noir!" She exclaimed.

"I heard your party was in need of some good company," he winked at her as he took her hand and kissed it. "Do you mind if I join?"

"Come on in," she took his hand and lead him inside. "I'll introduce you to everyone."

Chat Noir was a hit. The adults gushed over him. He played with the kids. He entertained everyone with funny stories of his heroic adventures. He had a good appetite and was not shy when it came to asking for seconds. When one of Marinette's uncles pulled out a guitar to play Christmas songs, Chat Noir was the first to sit at his feet and sing along. It made Marinette happy to see him enjoy himself so much. His smiles and laughter were contagious, and she found herself thinking that maybe Christmas luck was real after all.

It was late when everyone started to leave. Chat Noir offered to and help clean up but her parents refused. He was a guest and the only thing that guests were required to do were to enjoy themselves.

He hugged her when he left.

"Thank you for coming!" She exclaimed.

"Don't say that," he beamed at her. "Thank _you_ Marinette! I had a wonderful time. And… I know this is a bit much, but this is one of the best Christmases I've had in a while."

He kissed her on the forehead.

"Come back next year," she said. "There'll always be room for one more guest and you're more than welcome to join us."

"Next year? That's a bit soon."

"It's never too early to start planning."

"You're right," he grinned. "I'll think about it. See you soon?"

"See you soon," she waved.

Chat Noir closed the door and disappeared off into the night.


End file.
